Fracture nail and bone plate



Jam, L, 195m 5, J, E-HAQUSH wfl fi FRACTUBE NAIL AND BONE PLATE Filed Oct. 28. 194-7 INVENTOFL EDWARD \J. HABOUSH HIEATTORNEILS.

Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PAT OFFlGli $496,125 rnA'cTUnaNAnmNn-Bom PLATE Edward J.) Haboush; Brooklyn, NJ Y. Application October. 28; 1947, -SerialNo;;782;503rx 3 Claims." ((1123-92) Thieinvention relates to devices for; use in the fixation of fractures, and it relates particularly to a novel fracture nail and bone plate.

Due, to the difficulties encountered in the setting fixation of fractures of the neck of the femur a great many different types of fracture nails or .pins have been developed heretofore. Also, because of the difficulties sometimes encountered, in the treatment of fractures of other bones it has been necessary to provide various types of plates. which can be affixed to the frag mentsjofthe bone by means of screws to retain the fragments in their proper position to allow them to knit-together properly.

A l r t e prior il n 'b ne pla 'h v a junctionthe retention of the fractured bonefragments against shifting relatively when subjetted to torque, tension or; impact, or combine; tiori s' t hereof a r 7 v When the neck of the femur is fractured it has been found desirable to connect the fragments on opposite sides of thefractures by means of .pins or screws or nails driven through the fragments to prevent relative shifting or rotation of the, fragments under torque forces or the thrust exerted by the muscles of the patient.

These'pricr nails or pins are very satisfactory for thi slp urpose. However, their use is limited to 7 this one type of operation. They cannot beused for fixation of fractures of the shaft of the femur or fra ctures,for example, of the shafts of other bones, fo the reason that they do not lie flat against the bone or are provided with projecting,

flanges or reinforcing ridges which irritatethe flesh overlying them. Therefore, for the fixation of these latter types of bone fractures, it has been.

neoes'sary to provide bone plates which aresubstantially different in shape and size fromthe pinsI and nails referred to above. 7 V

Inasmuch as each of thepins, nails and bone plates has been developed for a specialized pur pose,. it is necessary to provide a greatvariety of sha es and sizes to meet all conditions. In modernghospitals thirty to forty different kinds of; bone pins, nails, plates, etc., may be kept in stock to meet all requirements. o

An object of the present invention is to prolvide a device for the fixation of fractures which is ofsuch construction that it maybe used with equal facility as a bone nail or a bone plate or as acomloined nail and plate. 7

Another object of the invention isto provide yrs a the fixation of fractures of almost:

any kin'dso that a relatively mu variety of these deyicescan beused for thefix-ation of-;sub-

stantially all types of fractures.

Other; objectsof the; invention and advantages thereof willbecome apparent from the followingdescription of typical forms-of devices embodyingq:

the present invention,

In accordance with: the present inventioma fracture fixation device is provided it which is: characterized by high resistance to twistingunder "-1- torque, is highly resistantbending and" is; of: such shape that it can -be used as a boneplate;

or a bone nail or a combination 'of the two.

More particularly, devices of--th type embody-: ing the present invention may consist of'a stripw of corrosion-resistant 1 metal, such as,-,for example, stainless steel or othermetal commonly usedc for thispurpose which is provided with flanges: at its opposite edges-that extend outwardly" in-L both directions from the strip to impart rigidity: to the member.- These flangesare of gspecial ada vantage in anchoring the device When it is *drivenm intothe bone, inasmuch as they provide edge spect tothe fixation device.

the fractured bone.-

Towfacilitate the applicationofthedevice-to the bone, either as a nail, or as aboneplate, the.- centerrportion of the device is provided with a,

series of apertures of a known length so. that by X-ray examination during the ,useof the device,v as a bone nai1,"for exampleguthe depth to which. thenailhaslbeen driven can .bedete-rmined bye. referring to the. number-10fopenings visible during theX-ray examination. The apertures-have the further functionof permitting the devicerto be secured by means of screws to the shaftl'of a bone intheusual way.

Devices of the type described generally. above; can be made in a standard length; if desired, and-.1. portions thereof may be out off for use; as nails or as bone plates as maybe required: Also, whilethe device has sufficient rigidityto prevent IBIaI-E tive rotation between the-fragments produced by 1 fracture of theneckof the femur, it can be'bent by means of a suitable small meta1 .brake to form; an additional bone plate extension orto conform; it to the shape of a bone to-which it isto be applied.

For better nnderstandin'gflof the presentin W vention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a typical form of device embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a View in section taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of device embodying the present invention illustrating a feature of the device which is useful in guiding it into position for the fixation of a fracture;

Figure 4 is a view in section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view illustrating the use of the device for fixation of a fracture of the neck of the femur; and

Figure 6 is a view in section taken on line 6 3 of Figure 5.

The forms of the invention described hereinafter are typical embodiments thereof which can be varied in size and proportions as the purpose demands.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a typical device embodying the present invention may consist of a strip ill of corrosion-re sistant metal, such as, stainless steel, which has a narrow center web portion it and right-angularly related flanges l2 and I3 at its opposite edges. The flanges l2 and it project on up posite sides of the center web, as best shown in Figure 2, so that oppositely directed narrow edge portions are provided which reinforce the device and provide edges for anchoring the device in the bone as described hereinafter. The device 5 ii will be referred to hereinafter as a nail, but as will become apparent, it is useful as a bone plate, a bone pin or nail, or a combination thereof. Therefore, the term nail as it is applied to the invention should be construed as covering a device useful as a bone pin, a bone nail and/or a bone plate.

The length of the nail it may be modified and preferably is of substantially greater length would be required for any usual type of fracture fixation operation. In this way, the nail it may be used in its full length for the fixation of a fracture if needed or it can be cut with an ordinary metal cutting device to a desired shorter length. In order to indicate quickly the length of the section to be severed from the nail iii, it may be provided with a plurality of apertures i l of a predetermined length, for example, one half inch, these apertures being spaced apart lengthwise of the strip by webs each of which is the same length, for example, a quarter of an inch. Thus, the apertures and the webs therebetween provide an accurate indication of the length of any section or segment of the nail it which may be required. Also, the apertures and the interposed webs i5 are useful in determining the depth of insertion of the nail into the bone by cxamina tion with X-rays.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, the nail ill may be used in the conventional way as a bone nail to fix the fragments Bi and B2 of the femur F by driving it through the two fragments. Inasmuch as the center of the bone is usually softer than its edges, the connecting Web portion l l finds little purchase for preventing relative rotation of the two fragments Bi and B2. However, the flanges l2 and it are imbedded in harder bone and they provide suitable anchorage in the two fragments of the bone. Inasmuch as the flanges l2 and I3 project in opposite directions, they tend to oppose relative rotation of the fragments in either direction when torque is exerted on the fragments.

Figure 5 also illustrates the use of the nail ID as a bone plate for anchoring it more firmly to the shaft of the femur F. Thus, the projecting portion of the nail l9 may be bent down along the shaft of the femur and secured thereto by means of suitable screws l6 and I! in the usual way.

. Inasmuch as the flanges l2 and I3 project only a very short distance beyond the center web 14, the inner flanges will fit closely against the bone, allowing the web H to come substantially into contact with the bone. At the same time, the oppositely directed portions of the flanges do not extend outwardly far enough to cause irritation of the tissues overlying the portion of the nail affixed to the bone.

It will be understood, of course, that the nail or a part thereof can be used solely as a bone plate and that sections of any desired length may be cut from the nail 10 to form such bone plates.

Preferably, the nail ill is provided with a pointed and sharpened edge it to facilitate its insertion into the bone. However, this end may be cut off if the nail is to be used as a bone plate.

The device may be modified to facilitate its insertion into the bone. Such a modification is disclosed in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. In this form of the nail, the center web of the nail is provided with the apertures 2! corresponding to the apertures 54 of the nail l0 described above. However, the nail 2B differs in that the Webs 22, 23, etc. between the apertures 2| are punched out in opposite directions to form guides for receiving a pin 24 which extends and can be slid length- 1 .1 pin 24 so that the nail is guided accurately into position in the bone fragments, In this way, it is only necessary to observe the depth to which the nail is driven to assure its proper positioning in the bone.

It will be understood from the preceding remarks that a nail has been provided which is capable of use not only as a bone nail or pin but which is equally suitable for use as a bone plate, and, therefore, it is capable of replacing a great variety of different types of nails and bone plates which were heretofore regarded as necessary to meet the requirements of different types of fracture fixation operations. In so far as the present invention is concerned, these requirements may be satisfied by providing a plurality of different sizes of the devices only without modifying their shape substantially. Thus, when the devices embodying the present invention are made in a series of three or four widths each varying by about an eighth of an inch, practically all types of fractures can be fixed by the selection of a device of suitable width for the purpose. In this way, instead of requiring nearly five hundred different types of bone plates and nails, it is possible with the present invention to attain the same results with only about three or four different sizes of the device.

It will be understood that the nails embodying the present invention are susceptible to modification in the type of material from which they are made and in their shape and dimensions and in the size and shape of the openings therein. Therefore, the forms of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A fracture nail comprising an elongated strip of metal having narrow flanges projecting in opposite directions from both of its edges, and a chisel-like edge at one of its ends.

2. A fracture nail comprising an elongated strip of corrosion-resistant metal having a row of perforations extending lengthwise of said strip, and narrow web portions between said perforations bent alternately in opposite directions from said strip to form a channel for receiving a guide pm.

3. A fracture nail comprising an elongated strip of corrosion-resistant metal having a row of perforations extending lengthwise of said strip, narrow web portions between said perforations bent alternately in opposite directions from said strip to form a channel for receiving a guide pin,

and narrow flanges projecting in opposite directions from each longitudinal edge of said strip.

EDWARD J. HABOUSI-l.

REFERENCES CITED Fracture Equipment, a catalog of the Zimmer Manufacturing Co. of Warsaw, Indiana, dated Feb. 1, 1947, page 31. Copy in Div. 55.

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